John Childs, 70, is CEO and board chairman of J.W. Childs Associates, a private equity firm based in Boston. He spends much of his time in Florida, where he has a home in Vero Beach.

Childs is a pioneer of the leveraged buyout, in which a typically public company is paid for with borrowed money and taken private, often to the detriment of its workers. He mastered these transaction at Thomas H. Lee Company, one of the leaders in leveraged buyouts, in the late-1980s to mid-1990s. He spearheaded what is considered one of the most successful leveraged buyout in history with THL’s acquisition of Snapple, which it bought for $135 million and flipped for $1.7 billion, according to Boston Magazine.

In 1995, Childs founded his “private equity” firm, the new name for leveraged buyout specialists. J.W. Childs has overseen buyouts of NutraSweet, Sunny Delight Beverages Co. and Brookstone, according to the firm’s website.

Before THL, Childs spent 17 years as an executive at Prudential Insurance Company of America, where he became senior managing director and oversaw Prudential’s $77 billion fixed income portfolio, including investments in leveraged buyouts, his profile says.

Boston Magazine says Childs is known as the “Republican ATM” for his generous contributions to Republican causes — nearly $3.7 million to federal candidates since 2008.

Childs supports wetlands conservation, volunteering as president of Wetlands Americas Trust, which provides the financial support for Ducks Unlimited, a Florida-based nonprofit that conserves and restores wetland habitat for waterfowl.

Last updated: Jan. 30, 2013

*2011-2012 election cycle. Source: Center for Responsive Politics and Center for Public Integrity analysis of Federal Election Commission records. Totals include contributions from individuals, family members and corporations that are controlled by the individual super donor.